A Bright Spot

I don't want to jinx myself, but I think that I have almost fully recovered (hurray!!), minus a small cough that I was told would probably last another week or two (thanks?). But, nonetheless, featuring a bright dish seemed appropriate to complement my bright and happy mood at recovering.

Our outdoor farmer's markets are coming to a close in Columbus. This Saturday I believe is the last one before they move indoors (where it becomes more arts and crafts than produce, for obvious reasons). Although I'm very sad at that being removed from our weekly leisure stroll through downtown areas, it does mean we can instead trek to Columbus' North Market and enjoy some of the unique things they offer.But anyway, as the season is winding down, aside from a plethora of leftover peppers and butternut squash an pumpkins, what the market has been full with at least the last few weeks as been an assortment of winter greens including the kale and arugula we were able to pick up. The kale went into a soup while I was to sick to take photos, but the recipe was pretty close to this one. For the arugula, we came up with this lovely dish:

 Some fresh pasta with an arugula pesto, tossed with garlic roasted tomatoes. The pesto was quite tasty with the substitution of the peppery arugula for the herbacious basil. If you prefer, I see no reason why you couldn't include some basil in it.  The original recipe we used was almost the same as what was printed below, but we felt it needed some acidity to balance it out a little, so we added the lemon juice. The sweet garlic flavor of the roasted tomatoes was a nice complement to the sauce once balanced, and of course the pasta was delicious with that amazing texture you can achieve when using fresh pasta. Enjoy!

Arugula Pesto:

4 cups (packed) arugula leaves (about 6 ounces)

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1. Place washed arugula leaves (stems removed) in blender along with toasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Blend until almost smooth. Gradually add olive oil and lemon juice and process until well blended. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

Garlic Roasted Tomatoes

Approx 2  Cups Grape or Cherry Tomatoes

Salt & Pepper to Season

1 Clove Garlic

2 Tbsp Olive Oil + Additional for Pan

1. Preheat oven to 350. In blender, combine 2 tbsp olive oil and i clove garlic. Blend until smooth. Toss tomatoes with garlic-olive oil mixture. Place tomatoes on lightly oiled panned. Roast for 45 minutes or until tomatoes begin to brown.

October Daring Bakers Challenge: French Macarons

So, as you may have been able to tell, we have not been diligent in our posting this past week. Suffice to say that major US universities are breeding grounds for the flu, and its been hard enough to get my work for school done in between the sneezing & coughing. BUT, luckily, I was diligent with this month's challenge from the Daring Bakers and completed it a few weeks ago, and naturally do have some thoughts to share. 

The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

 

So, I hate to admit this, but I've never had a macaron. I've had the coconut macaroon version once or twice maybe, but was not a fan, so I was excited about this challenge, and less nervous than last months. Silly me.  I tried my first batch. This is what I ended up with...and these were the pretty ones...the ones that I could get off the sheet, and the ones that at least weren't a gummy mess...

Not so hot, huh? The second half of the batch, I added food coloring to, hoping to get a cute colored macaron. Nope, turned out absolutely paper thin flat. No feet, no rise...just an almond & egg mess. So, I started doing a little digging around and found a few tips. 

In several places, I noted that people referred to perfecting the macaron as a growing obsession, and I can see why. I hate when things don't turn out like I planned. It happens a lot....a lot a lot, but I still don't like it. So, after coming across numerous instructions to age the egg whites first, I decided to try that and see where it got me.

Look at the feet! Small, yes. Barely there, yes. Perhaps more easily identifiable in the picture at the top. But, having never had a 'true' macaroon, I still found these pretty tasty and looked adorable in my book. The cookie itself is incredibly light and airy, and the filling provides just enough sweetness to balance. The first half were filled with a pumpkin-marshmallow cream filling, while the second were filled with a simple dark chocolate ganache. To give the cookie a little bit of flavor, I followed the advice of someone else and ground a tea bag of spices in with the almonds. The tea was Celestial Seasonings Nutcracker Sweet tea that my mother-in-law introduced to me with its warm vanilla, cinnamon, & nutmeg flavors. In my next attempt (because yes, there will be more, when I happen to have a surplus of almonds to grind), I'll probably try something with lavender, and maybe a green tea version, and a blueberry tea version...and maybe an apple tea version...ooh the possibilities

I guess the lesson of the macaron is something to the effect if at first you don't succeed....but if you do, keep at it anyway, they wont last long! Thanks to AmiS for a unique challenge and for introducing a new obsession in this cute little treat.

Claudia Fleming's Macaron Recipe:

Preparation time: Not taking into account the amount of time it takes for you to bring your egg whites to room temperature, the whole baking process, including making the batter, piping and baking will probably take you about an hour to an hour and a half. How long it takes to make your filling is dependent on what you choose to make.

Actual baking time: 12 minutes total, plus a few minutes to get your oven from 200°F to 375°F.

Equipment required:
• Electric mixer, preferably a stand mixer with a whisk attachment
• Rubber spatula
• Baking sheets
• Parchment paper or nonstick liners
• Pastry bag (can be disposable)
• Plain half-inch pastry bag tip
• Sifter or sieve
• If you don’t have a pastry bag and/or tips, you can use a Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off
• Oven
• Cooling rack
• Thin-bladed spatula for removing the macaroons from the baking sheets
• Food processor or nut grinder, if grinding your own nuts (ouch!)

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami's note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

Additional Information:

David Lebovitz breaks it down: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/09/making_french_macarons.htm...
More macaroon 411: http://www.seriouseats.com/2007/10/introduction-to-french-macarons.html
Get inspired by our own Tartlette!: http://www.mytartelette.com/search/label/macarons
Go behind the scenes of Paulette: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXIvX0-CEu0
Watch a pro pipe macaroons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_RfiFoWZKQ&feature=related
Beating egg whites: http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/archives/egg-series-no-1-how-to-b...

Something to Warm the October Chill

This is the first official cold weather soup post. I thought it may be important to mark the occasion, as I'm quite sure there will be many many more to follow. I just hope that some of you enjoy soup as much as I do. Even Daniel gets pretty tired of my automatic response to "what would you like for dinner" when its cold, although he continues to kindly oblige with soups and stews to keep us warm. I'm not sure if I could tolerate somewhere much colder than it is hear, although I suppose once you adapt its not so bad.

So, the story of the soup. After trying a chicken and rutabaga concoction Daniel had made a few weeks ago, I'd decided that the smoky and spicy taste of chipotle peppers in adobo would make a delicious addition to a soup or stew in the not so distant future. Since it has been rather chilly the last week or so here (at least in my book, but take that for what you will), I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

I think besides the warming effect, one the things I love about making soup is the type of freedom you feel knowing that you can freely combine a few key ingredients and spices and end up with something warm and comforting. So, opening the fridge, I see that we have some Spanish chorizo Daniel picked up earlier in the week. Spanish chorizo can be less spicy than Mexican chorizo because its seasoned with paprika and dried peppers whereas Mexican chorizo typically uses more chili powder. I decided that the smokiness of the chorizo would work well with the chipotle peppers, so I combined the two, a little bit of tomato paste and some canned tomatoes. Once I finished, I decided that on its own the soup somewhat lacked an appropriate consistency, so I added a little bit of quinoa to obtain a nice stew-like texture.

Overall, the soup was perfect for the chilly evening, a little bit spicy but not overpowering thanks to the tomato base and the quinoa, and warmly satisfying for the beginning of what I'm sure will be a long and cold few months.

Chipotle Chorizo Tomato Soup with Quinoa

Approx 4 Ounces Spanish Chorizo, casings removed.

1/2 Small Onion

1 Garlic Clove

1/2 Tsp Paprika

Peppers from 1/2 Can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce; Diced

1 Small Can Tomato Paste

1 Large Can Whole Tomatoes

4 Cups Water

1/2 Cup Quinoa  

1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil (if needed)

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Cook chorizo in heavy saucepan over medium high hat, using oil to coat pan if needed, but be aware that chorizo can render a higher fat content than some sausage. Once sausage begins to cook and render some of its juices, add onions and garlic and saute together. Once cooked, carefully drain excess oil, leaving approximatley 1 tbsp (should be bright red/orange colored). 

2. Add tomato paste and paprika and stir evenly for approx one minute over medium heat. Add can of tomatoes including juice and chipotle peppers. Bring to a simmer and begin gently crushing tomatoes with back of spoon.

3. Begin adding water. Bring to a simmer and allow soup to reduce slightly for approximately ten minutes.

4. Rinse quinoa in warm water. Stir rinsed quinoa into simmering soup. Allow soup to simmer for 15-20 minutes until quinoa grains begin to separate.

5. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm with optional garnish of cojita crumbles.

Patience+Local Ingredients=One Tasty Pig

Dawn and I went to the North Market in the Arena District the other day to look at the cheese shop, the outside farmers market, and we refrained from some of the most incredible ice cream in the world (Jeni's). I had a pork loin brining the refrigerator that I was unsure of how I was going to cook before we went on our adventure. Call me crazy but there is some kind of last minute instinct in me concerning cooking that makes the composition of a meal fascinating . To think that the small amount of salt and vinegar with water can seal in the juices of a pork loin so well. Each element working like a collage and then topping the collage off with whole grain mustard to roast.

The mustard caught my eye as I was looking through their case for their assorted cheese curds that make me happy. On the top of the clear plastic container was written in permanent ink Pommery. I suspected this was some region of France with their mustard infatuation. I later learned after a short conversation that French Pommery mustard is typically made in Meaux. They refrained from telling me if this particular mustard was made locally or actually in Meaux, but it looked and tasted incredible, so it made no difference to me.

We also had some gorgeous golden beets and many other alliterations to go with the meal. The kind fellow at the local farm where we purchased the beets told us they purchased a planter that allows them to plant the golden beets when already partially germinated. Why does this matter you might ask? Golden beets have a much longer germination period which disallows them to be harvested at the same time as red beets if at all here in Ohio. Enough beet factoids, though and on to the recipes.

Cider Brined Pork with Pommery Crust

1- 2 1/2 # pork loin roast

1/4 C Pommery or similar whole grain mustard

6 C. Water

3/4 C. apple cider vinegar

1/4 C. white vinegar

5 T. coarse kosher salt

6 garlic cloves halved

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

Place pork loin in large bowl and submerge in water combined with vinegars and salt. Let sit covered in refrigerator for at least twenty-four hours up to seventy-two. Remove from brine and pat dry. Cut small incision in roast just large enough to insert garlic cloves. Rub with oil and cover roast liberally with pommery mustard. Pour brining liquid into roasting pan and place roast on rack inside pan and cover with aluminum foil. Make sure liquid is not touching bottom of roast. Roast at 400 degrees for approximately an hour or until thermometer registers 150 degrees. Let roast rest for about fifteen minutes before slicing.

Warm Golden Beet and Quinoa Salad

3-4 Medium Sized Golden Beets; Stems Removed; Unpeeled

1/2 Cup Red Quinoa; rinsed

1 Cup Water

2 Cloves Garlic; Chopped

1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Lemon

1 Tbsp Fresh Dill

1/4 Cup Goat Cheese Crumbles

1. Preheat oven to 400. Wash beets and wrap individually in foil. Once preheat, place beets on baking sheet or in roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until can easily be pierced with a fork.

2. After removing beets from oven, allow to rest until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, add olive oil to heavy saucepan and saute garlic over medium high heat until beginning to brown. Add quinoa and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Allow to simmer until grains begin to separate; approximatley 15 minutes.

3. While the quinoa is simmering, remove beets from foil. Peel, and cut roasted beets into bite-sized cubes. 

4. Once quinoa has completed cooking. Remove from heat. Add cubed beets and quinoa to serving dish stirring lightly. Squeeze juice from half of a lemon over salad. Add chopped dill and goat cheese crumbles. Salt & pepper to season as desired and serve immediately.

Twice as Nice Cupcakes

Cookie dough is by far one of my biggest temptations. When I make cookies, the dough is often times more enjoyable in my opinion than the baked cookie and I'm not sure why. My favorite ice cream flavor is still chocolate chip cookie dough, and the cookie dough blasts they would have at sonic, or the dairy queen blizzard with brownie batter and cookie dough bits in it, sinful.To my utter enjoyment, when I arrived home Wednesday after an exhausting day and still somewhat in shock about Gourmet's closing, another blog that I follow and adore had a lovely recipe for cookie dough truffles (you should read her blog too, I find it very enjoyable).

I was planning to make the cookies and the cookie dough truffles that same evening to get over my midweek, colder weather's-a-coming blues, but for whatever reason ended up postponing it. Saturday, I was still thinking about making them to take over on Sunday to my parents. But then I was stuck in a quandary. My love for cookie dough is not unnatural, as my family loves cookies, to the point that an amazing disappearance of three or four dozen cookies in one afternoon (there are five of us) may or may not have occurred in the not too distant past. With that in mind though, I decided to nix the double cookie temptation route, and to use the cookie dough bits in a cupcake instead and see how they turned out.

I have to say, I was pretty happy with the way they turned out, and I heard no complaints, nor saw any left which I usually take to be a good sign. With the caramel frosting on the top, they very sweet, but still quite tasty!

Mini Cookie Dough  Truffles courtesy of Culinary Concoctions by Peabody  

¼  cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup packed brown sugar
½  tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
7 oz sweetened condensed milk
¼  cup mini chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.Beat in vanilla.

Slowly add flour, alternating with condensed milk, beating well after each addition.

Add chocolate chips and blend until fully incorporated. Place into fridge for about 10 minutes  before rolling.

Shape balls into ¼ -inch balls and  lightly dust with flour to prevent from sticking (approx. 1 tbsp) and place into an air tight container. Freeze for at least three hours.

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp triple sec, or Grand Marnier*

1/4 Cup Flour

 *Can substitute strongly brewed coffee as well

 Line 12-cup muffin pan with muffin papers.  In small heavy saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over medium-low heat, stirring until melted and smooth, about 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat.

Beat  in sugar. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add liqueur and mix until thick ribbon falls when beaters or whisk are lifted.. Sift flour over over mixture and using a spatula, gently fold in flour. Divide batter among muffin papers. Cover and chill until cold and firm, at least 25 minutes.

 Once ready, preheat oven to 400°F. Divide batter among cupcakes. Place on or two cookie dough truffles (depending on size) into the middle of the cupcake. Bake cupcakes in papers on baking sheet until tops are puffed and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with moist batter attached, about 7 minutes.

These are pretty rich as I said, so if you want to stop here, they'll still be quite tasty, or you could simply serve them with some whipped cream. Or, you could keep reading and go all out!

Caramel Frosting

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp heavy cream

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1 Cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt butter over medium heat in heavy saucepan. Add cream and brown sugar when butter has just started to warm and melt. Mix well. Allow to boil for one minute.Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and mix well. Allow to cool slightly (1-2 minutes) and add remaining powdered sugar and vanilla. If icing seems to stiff, add a small amount of milk or heavy cream. If mixture seems too runny, allow it to sit for a few minutes before stirring. If it still seems too runny, add a small amount of powdered sugar (although it sets up very quickly. Once icing is at a spreadable consistency pipe or ice cupcakes as soon as quickly as possible (as the icing sets up quickly once cooled).

Enjoy!!

Chicken and Memories to Welcome Fall

The crisp morning air and first frost behind us makes me smile a little and mourn a little. The fresh harvest vegetables will vanish for a season, yet comfort food will again reign complicity in its stead. The refreshing white wines are exchanged for bold new faces from some of my favorite regions such as Chilcauga, Rioja, Loire, and Jumilla.

This change of seasons puts me in the mood for some familiar faces as well as some newcomers to my repertoire. I have cooked and eaten more chicken than I can remember due to my mother's instilled love of the bird. My grandmother and great grandmother stuck to red meats and pork more, probably because my great grandfather was a dairy farmer and relied greatly on bovine sustenance for nourishment. He would be awfully proud to know that bacon, whole milk, and buttermilk have become forces in the cooking scene today. During the Great Depression, he raised pigs to sell for five cents a pound if I remember correctly. When he sold one of his pigs that weighed in at two hundred pounds, he would take in an incredible ten dollars. When I think of him, his stories just start pouring into my mind.

So, to get back to dinner and the micro-thanksgiving we had, I substituted a Cornish game hen for a turkey, included one starch/vegetable of roasted turnips and sweet potatoes, and one side. Having never worked with wheat berries, I took an ill-advised risk in only soaking them for only seven hours. Sometimes, being over eager gets the best of me. The taste of the warm wheat berry salad was excellent...aside from the slightly chewy texture. The fresh root vegetables still had dirt clinging to their skins as if to display a cloak straight from the ground. For the first time cooking a Cornish game hen, which is not much different than a small chicken, it is on my list to do again very soon. Moist, succulent meat that had just enough skin to crisp over with a jacket of olive oil and crushed sage. Fall is upon us and embracing it with open arms or a roasted game hen and root vegetables will not be regretted.

 

Sage Roasted Game Hen and Root Vegetables

1 (1-1/2 #) Cornish Game Hen

2 medium to large white turnips peeled and cut in 1/4 inch cubes

3 smallish sweet potatoes or yams peeled and cut in 1/4 inch cubes

1 medium Spanish Onion diced

5 T. crushed Albanian Sage divided

5 fresh sage leaves julienned

4 garlic cloves crushed

1/4 C. apple cider vinegar

1/2 of a lemon

olive oil

salt and black pepper

The night before the bird is going to be cooked place it in a large bowl of water  until just submerged then add vinegar and five tablespoons salt. Cover and chill in refrigerator until one hour prior to cooking. When hen has been removed from brine bath pat dry and coat with olive oil, a generous portion of salt and black pepper, and two tablespoons of crushed sage. Insert fresh sage and garlic into the hens cavity and tress the legs.

Steam turnips and sweet potatoes for about 8 minutes before adding to bottom of roasting pan. Coat generously with olive oil, salt and black pepper, and remaining crushed sage. Squeeze juice from the halved lemon over vegetables.

Set roasting rack in pan and place hen on rack and roast for approximately one hour and ten minutes or until chicken registers 165 degrees.

Warm Wheat Berry Salad

1 1/2 C. wheat berries

5 C. water

3 T. balsamic vinegar

1/3 C. halved grape tomatoes

1/4 C. toasted pecans coarsely diced

Soak 1 1/2 C Wheat berries overnight and rinse again before cooking. Bring water to a boil in pot and add wheat berries. Check occasionally to ensure water has not evaporated. Cook 1 hour or until berries begin to split open.  Remove from pan and toss wheat berries with pecans, tomatoes and vinegar.

Cherries to Cheer

So for the last week or so, I have to admit that I've felt completely unoriginal and unmotivated in the kitchen. I'm not sure if its the stress of school that's hitting me early this quarter or what precisely, but it seems as if for the last week Daniel and I have had other commitments or obligations so that we haven't been able to cook, or when we could we were having camera issues, or when it was my turn I opted for something unoriginal and un-blog worthy. Finally though, I was able to break out of my cooking apathy with this bright pizza.

 

Daniel had visited his favorite Asian grocery store earlier in the week and had brought home some quail eggs for us to try. Lack of motivation however, meant that they were not used right away, so I had to come up with something to do with them. For some reason, breakfast food always makes me feel better. I don't know why exactly, because I'm not a huge fan of big breakfast, but there is something extremely comforting about a simple omelet for breakfast. Unfortunately, it would take a lot of quail eggs to make an omelet for us, so I had to go another route, leading to this lovely creation, a quail egg pizza with a cherry ginger balsamic sauce, goat cheese, and of course, bacon.  

Once I decided on this, I wasn't sure quite what to do with the eggs. I opted to try for a very light over easy egg to place on the pizza before going into the oven. This was somewhat difficult because I'm not an expert egg cook, and they are quite tiny. Suffice to say of the dozen, a few eggs ended up somewhat scrambled and maybe not so lightly cooked in the process. I do think lightly cooked is the way to go, since there was one or two eggs on the pizza that were a little more than over-easy going onto the pizza, and they did come out a little on the tough side. I may try in the future breaking them on the pizza once all the other toppings are on and have cooked a minute so the pizza is hot, but we will see.

The sauce I put together had a very mild cherry flavor, but complimented the salted egg and goat cheese quite well. Although I've heard its unhealthy to use food to brighten your mood, I have to say that this pizza was a nice mix of comforting flavors and bright cheery colors that it just might do the trick. Enjoy!

 

 Cheery Quail Egg & Cherry Pizza

Pizza Dough, recipe available here or use your own.

For the sauce:

1/2 Bag of Frozen Cherries

1/2 Tsp Ginger

1 Tbsp Sugar

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste
Toppings:

1/4-1/2 Cup Crumbled Goat Cheese

1/4-1/2 Cup Crumbled Bacon

8-10 Quail Eggs lightly cooked over easy and well seasoned (be sure to salt them well!!!)

1. Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 475. 

2. Prepare dough as needed and place on corn meal coated pizza peel. While dough is resting, prepare eggs and bacon. 

3. Prepare the sauce by placing cherries and sugar in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Once skin begins to give, press with spoon to rupture cherries. Add balsamic and ginger stirring quickly. Reduce to low heat and reduce liquid until reaching desired consistency. Salt & pepper to taste. 

4. Assemble pizza by spooning liquid onto dough and spreading thin. Gently add lightly cooked quail eggs, cheese, and bacon. Corn meal pizza stone carefully and add pizza to oven. Cook for approx 8 minutes until crust is golden brown. Enjoy!

Breakfast for Supper

To spurn social norms, last night I decided to cooks a savory fritatta- and to go with the grain a focaccia, if you will excuse the pun. I had a ball of pizza dough in the fridge, that Dawn had made about a week ago, and some cubanelle peppers from the farmer's market ranging from a granny smith apple green shade to almost a terra cotta red hue. They looked perfect for a simple focaccia with their realm of colors. My pizza stone was already in the oven so I turned the oven to broil and charred the peppers on all sides them threw them in a paper bag to steam for about 12 minutes. After they had steamed, the peppers were so delicate and slick as oysters. They were marvelous when wedded with crisp tangy parmesan and romano studded focaccia.

With bacon and eggs handy in the fridge and some slivers of roasted cubanelle left over from the focaccia, a fritatta seemed to be a fitting accompaniment. The textual spectrum of soft peppers, crunchy bacon, and fluffy eggs says comfort food as only breakfast can. But why eat it only at breakfast?

Roasted Pepper and Bacon Fritatta
5 eggs

4 slices bacon

1 C roasted cubanelle peppers- as explained earlier

1/4 C fresh grated armesan and romano cheese

 Preheat oven to broil. Dice bacon finely and cook until crisp in oven proof skillet. Spread bacon and roasted peppers evenly in skillet. Beat eggs in bowl until frothy and add to skillet and cook until eggs are half cooked. Place eggs in oven and cook until top begins to firm, approximately five minutes. 

Cubanelle and Parmesan Focaccia

Pizza crust recipe here.

2 roasted cubanelle peppers

1/3 C. parmesan and roman cheese blend- needed into crust

 Coat pizza peel liberally with corn meal and slide focaccia rolled out to 1/2 inch thickness onto corn mealed pizza stone. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until focaccia is golden.